Winchester Family Dollar Store Sells for $1.5 Million

The company bought the property in a Dec. 12 special warranty deed from Marketplace Development LLC, a local developer of Family Dollar stores.

The transaction included two parcels, both at the southeast corner of Winchester and Ridgeway roads, site of a former Rafferty’s Restaurant and Bar.

The first is a 1.19-acre parcel whose 2012 appraisal from the Shelby County Assessor of Property was $661,200. Next was a 0.43-acre parcel whose 2012 appraisal was $102,700.

The store was built in 2012 and the property value hasn’t been updated to reflect the addition of a structure.

In conjunction with the purchase, Patil Bandus filed a $865,796 loan through First Place Bank. Sandeep Patil signed the trust deed as an authorized agent of the buyer.

Source: The Daily News Online & Chandler Reports

– Daily News staff

$4 Million Permit Filed For Regional Medical Center

Plans have been submitted for $4 million worth of capital improvements at the Regional Medical Center at Memphis.

A building permit application with the city-county Office of Construction Code Enforcement calls for interior demolition and infill of approximately 17,500 square feet of an existing floor at The MED, 877 Jefferson Ave.

Flintco Inc. is the contractor for the project. Upgrades include drywall, acoustical, flooring, mechanical, plumbing and electrical.

The MED, one of the nation’s three busiest trauma centers, is also undergoing a $20.7 million renovation and expansion of its emergency room, according to Memphis Medical Center literature. In addition, the hospital is renovating and building out 88,000 square feet in Turner Tower – a $30 million project that will add 10 inpatient rehab beds and create new outpatient ambulatory surgery unit by December.

The MED’s Downtown campus sees 16,000 inpatient visits, 50,000 emergency room visits and 130,000 outpatient visits each year. Rick Wagers, chief financial officer of The MED, recently told The Daily News that the hospital “would like to … replace the vast majority of our campus over a five- to 10-year period in order to make it more patient- and family-friendly.”

The many capital improvement projects already completed in the past two years at The MED include streetscape and parking lot improvements; renovation of the emergency department and waiting area; upgrades to security and trauma treatment rooms; conversion of all double bedrooms to single bedrooms; installation of robotics in the inpatient pharmacy; new roofing; and fresh internal and external signage.

– Sarah Baker

Avery Park Apartments Sell for $5.2 Million

Avery Park, a 231-unit apartment community built in 1971 in Northeast Shelby County, sold on Dec. 19 for $5.2 million, or $22,511 per unit.

Blake Pera and Tommy Bronson III with CB Richard Ellis Memphis’ Memphis Multifamily Division represented California-based US Housing Partners VII in the sale to a buyer out of Utah.

Formerly Covington Crossing, Avery Park is located in the Raleigh/Bartlett apartment submarket with visibility along Raleigh LaGrange Road near the intersection of Covington Pike Road and adjacent to Methodist North Hospital.

Avery Park has one-, two-, and three-bedroom garden-style and townhouse units. Units average 845 square feet, with an average rent of $587. Avery Park amenities include a swimming pool and sundeck, fitness center, walk-in closets, and patios or balconies.

– Sarah Baker

Leadership Memphis Launches College Help Campaign

Leadership Memphis has launched a citywide campaign to encourage high school seniors to attend college by helping them complete FAFSA – Free Application for Federal Student Aid – forms in January.

The campaign includes several hands-on “Fill out the FAFSA” sessions to be held from Jan. 10 through Jan. 27 at various locations around the city. The sessions are designed for students and parents who want help completing the forms.

The campaign is made possible by the Memphis Talent Dividend, one of several Leadership Memphis action initiatives that focus on increasing college attainment among students in the Memphis area. The “Fill out the FAFSA” campaign is being held in partnership with the Urban Youth Initiative Inc.

The sessions begin Jan. 10 at the Whitehaven Library Career Coach Mobile Unit from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.

– Andy Meek

Renovation Unveiled at Annunciation Greek Orthodox

Parishioners of Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church, 573 N. Highland St., were to cut the ribbon New Year’s Eve on a renovated fellowship hall.

The hall has been hidden from parishioners during the renovation, which include Sunday school rooms, the youth room and the church’s administrative offices.

The hall itself will be named in honor of Harry and Margaret Cotros, founding members of the church.

They were the parents of Charles Cotros, a lifelong member of the church who contributed to the renovation effort, and Loretta Taras and Elaine Taras.

– Bill Dries

Jobless Benefit Rolls Drop 7 Percent With New Rule

About 7 percent of Tennesseans previously receiving jobless benefits have been dropped for failing to verify that they were searching for work.

That’s according to an audit by the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development.

New rules that went into effect on Sept. 1 require Tennesseans receiving jobless benefits to document at least three job searches a week.

In the first seven weeks of enforcing the new law, random audits of 6,164 people found that 402 failed to verify their weekly job searches. They lost their benefits, at least for that week. Since then, audits of another 3,147 recipients found 226 failed to meet the requirements.

State Sen. Jack Johnson was a sponsor of the bill. The Franklin Republican said the requirements already have saved the state’s Unemployment Insurance fund more than $100,000, helping the employers who pay for the program.

Job searches can include completing job applications or interviews or mailing resumes to employers.

Tennessee pays a maximum of $275 a week for those who lost a job through no fault of their own.